London Chess Classic R 5

Another tough day for Veselin Topalov in London. Once again the only decisive game of round five was his own. But not in his favor. The local hero Michael Adams showed superb preparation to score his first win:

Do not miss Peter Doggers's report.

A Perfect Attack

Michael Adams's first win at the Tata Steel in round ten was a great achievement especially when his opponent was the ultra-solid Sergey Karjakin:

[Event "Tata Steel Chess - Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.27"]
[Round "10.5"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2769"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:59"]
[BlackClock "0:11:57"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 {Diagram [#] The London system is
becoming more and more popular, even at a top level. White is playing the Slav
defense with an extra tempo.} Nc6 6. Nbd2 Bd6 7. Bg3 O-O 8. Bd3 b6 9. Ne5 {
This is one of the main ideas of the whole line. White wants to attack on the
kingside and therefore plays in a Stonewall way.} Bb7 10. f4 {The bishop on g3
is also seemingly well placed, ready to go to h4. It seems as White had won
some tempos on the development of that piece, but if we count carefully, we
shall see that it is all the same. In the Stonewall the bishop goes to h4 via
d2-e1-h4. Here Karjakin had lost the time while maneuvering Bf4-g3-h4.} Ne7 {
A nice defensive maneuver.} 11. Qf3 ({Funnily, Karjakin has some experience
with this line, but as Black:} 11. Qc2 c4 12. Be2 Nf5 13. Bf2 Be7 14. Ng4 Nxg4
15. Bxg4 Nd6 16. f5 exf5 17. Bxf5 Nxf5 18. Qxf5 Qc8 {Andreikin,D (2720)
-Karjakin,S (2762) Baku 2015}) (11. Bh4 Ne4 {is good for Black.}) 11... Nf5 12.
Bf2 Be7 13. g4 Nd6 {Petrosian loved to place his knights this same way against
the Stinewall and to crack jokes about the awesomeness of the Dutch defense.}
14. g5 Nfe4 15. O-O-O ({Perhaps it was better to postpone the castling for one
more move} 15. Qh3) 15... c4 $146 {[%cal Gc5c4,Gb6b5,Gb5b4,Ga7a5] Diagram [#]
A novelty in comparison to the email game:} ({Sodomski,A (2006)-Fedorov,S
(2399) ICCF email 2011, which saw} 15... cxd4 16. exd4 b5 17. h4 b4 18. cxb4 a5
{which also looks quite promising for Black.}) 16. Bc2 (16. Bxe4 $6 dxe4 17.
Qg2 b5 {[%cal Gb7d5,Ga7a5,Gb5b4] Diagram [#] followed by Bb7-d5 and advance of
the "a" and "b" pawns will lead to a dream position for the second player.})
16... b5 {Both sides attack on the opposite flanks and the Big question is-
"Who is opening the king first." Since the white pawn chain is somewhat more
exposed, Adams does it.} 17. Qh3 b4 18. Nxe4 ({Naturally, Karjakin does not
want to open any files with} 18. cxb4 a5 $1 {Diagram [#]} (18... c3 19. bxc3
Qc7 (19... Nxc3 20. Qxh7#)) 19. b5 c3 20. bxc3 Nxb5 {when Black is definitely
happy.}) 18... dxe4 19. Be1 Bd5 {Adams prepares b4-b3.} ({The other way to
attack is} 19... bxc3 20. Bxc3) 20. Rg1 $6 {Diagram [#] Which Karjakin ignores.
} ({In case of} 20. cxb4 a5 $1 21. bxa5 {The English GM was probably planning
the rich exchange sacrifice} Rxa5 $1 {when} 22. Bxa5 $2 {might lead to quick
mate after} ({But White had definitely more chances defending the position
after} 22. a3 {than the one in the game. On a second thought} Nb5 $1 {Looks
really scary for White.}) 22... Qxa5 23. Kb1 (23. Rd2 c3 24. bxc3 Qxc3 25. Kd1
Rb8 $19) 23... c3 {[%csl Rb1] Diagram [#] and the white king has no defenders.}
) 20... b3 21. axb3 (21. Bb1 {seems more stubborn although Black's attacking
chances are huge after} bxa2 22. Bxa2 a5 ({Or} 22... Rb8)) 21... cxb3 22. Bb1
f5 $1 {[%csl Rc1][%cal Gf8f1] Diagram [#] A very nice idea. Adams offers his
opponent a choice of two eveils. To close the kingside and basically to resign
on the other one. Or...} 23. gxf6 Bxf6 {To open the "f" file for the black
rook and activate his bishop.} 24. Rg4 Nf5 {With the intention to improve
calmly with a7-a5-a4-a3 or Ra8-c8 and Qd8-a5.} 25. Kd2 {White tries to escape
but the poor king gets surrounded.} Qa5 26. Ke2 Bxe5 27. dxe5 ({There is no
way back as the "f" file had been opened-} 27. fxe5 Bc4+ 28. Kd2 (28. Kf2 Nxd4+
) 28... Qa1 {[%csl Rd2][%cal Ra1b2]}) 27... Rad8 28. Kf2 {Or:} (28. Bd2 Bc4+
29. Ke1 Rxd2 $1 {[%csl Ye1] Diagram [#] and White's position falls apart.} 30.
Kxd2 (30. Rxd2 Qa1 31. Rd1 Qxb2) 30... Rd8+ 31. Kc1 Rxd1+ 32. Kxd1 Qa1 33. Kc1
Bd3) 28... Qa1 {It is over.} 29. Bd2 Bc4 30. Qh5 Qxb2 31. Ke1 Rxd2 $1 {[%csl
Re1][%cal Rb2c1,Rc1d2] Diagram [#]} (31... Rxd2 32. Rxd2 Qc1+ 33. Kf2 Qf1#) 0-1

Report.

Clear Leaders

The third round of Tata Steel Chess saw new leaders. Aleksey Dreev won third straight win to seize the lead in the Challenger's section, while Fabiano Caruana was lucky enough (and very stubborn)to flip a worse position into a win:

[Event "Tata Steel Chess- Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.18"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:18:28"]
[BlackClock "0:28:49"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. e3 Bb7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O d5 {
Diagram [#] The Nimtzo-Indian defense had served well the English top GM, but
this particular line had rarely occurred in his games. Here he deviates from
his early predecessor} (7... c5 8. Na4 cxd4 9. a3 Bd6 10. exd4 Bxf3 11. Qxf3
Nc6 12. Be3 e5 13. c5 exd4 14. cxd6 dxe3 15. Qxe3 Re8 {as in Arnaudov,P (2471)
-Adams,M (2720) Eilat 2012}) 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Ne5 Nbd7 10. f4 c5 11. Ne2 c4 ({
Black can also capture on d4} 11... cxd4 12. exd4 Be7 13. Be3 Ne4 14. Rc1 Ndf6
{which leads to slightly passive, but defendable position, Lysyj,I (2684)
-Efimenko,Z (2641) Bilbao 2014}) 12. Bf5 {After seven minutes of thought Adams
came with a strong novelty} g6 $146 {Diagram [#]} ({Prior to this game Black
had only tested} 12... b5 13. b3 (13. a4 $5) 13... Nb6 14. Rb1 Qd6 15. Ng3 Rfe8
{with unclear game, Gschnitzer,O (2475)-Piskov,Y (2520) Germany 1993}) {
Caruana sank into deep thought and came up with} 13. Qa4 {This looks dubious
to me. White's hopes of an advantage will be most likely connected with the
retreat} (13. Bc2) 13... gxf5 14. Qxb4 Ne4 {[%csl Ge4,Ye5][%cal Yf7f6] Diagram
[#] As a result we have a situation similar to the game Bok-L'Ami from
yesterday. The knight on e4 is the king of the board, while the one on e5 will
soon have to step back after f7-f6.} 15. a4 f6 16. Nf3 ({Black's play is very
easy after} 16. Nxd7 Qxd7 {but objectively speaking this might have been
stronger than the text move.}) 16... Nb8 $1 {[%csl Rb3,Rd3][%cal Gb8c6,Gc6a5,
Ga5b3,Rc6b4,Rb4d3] Diagram [#] The second knight is heading towards the d3 or
b3 outposts via b4 or a5 squares. The opening was huge success for Adams who
firmly took command of the game.} 17. Qe1 Nc6 18. Bd2 Kh8 {The only place
where White can show some activity is the king's flank., but Black can also
make good use of the half-open "g" file.} 19. Nh4 Qd7 20. Nc3 Rae8 {Adams
wants to keep the e4 square available for his pieces. Another idea was:} (20...
Nb4 21. Nxe4 Nd3 ({Rather than} 21... Nc2 22. Qd1 Nxa1 23. Ng3 Nb3 24. Bb4 {
when the white light pieces come into life.}) 22. Nxf6 (22. Qe2 fxe4) 22...
Rxf6 23. Qe2 Re8 {when Black will return the pawn with some advantage} 24. Bc3
Qe6) 21. Nxe4 Rxe4 22. Qd1 Rg8 {With the idea Rg8-g4.} 23. Qh5 {Caruana did
great under the circumstances and created his own play on the kingside. Still,
it should not be sufficient for full equality.} Bc8 24. Rf3 Qe8 25. Qh6 {
Places the queen in a very dangerous position.} ({The endgame deprives White
of his attacking chances.} 25. Qxe8 Rgxe8) 25... Qf7 {Adams intends Nc6-e7,
Rg8-g7(g4) and Ne7-g8 to trap the queen.} 26. b4 $1 {[%cal Rd2b4,Rb4f8,Yb4b5,
Gc1c8] Diagram [#] Caruana secures some squares for his dark-squared bishop as
otherwise Black can simply play a7-a5 in a certain moment.} (26. Rg3 Ne7 27.
Nf3 Rg4 {is good for Black.}) 26... Ne7 ({Perhaps} 26... cxb3 27. Rh3 (27. Rc1
Bd7) 27... Bd7 28. Rb1 Ne7 29. Rxb3 Rg7 {was simpler and better.}) 27. Rh3 Rg4
{Adams had an interesting idea instead:} (27... c3 $1 {with the tactical point}
28. Bxc3 $2 ({Objectively best according to the computer is} 28. Bc1 {where
the bishop is obviously badly misplaced.}) ({Black is clearly better after} 28.
Be1 Rg4 29. Nf3 Bd7 {Prepares the capture on e3.} ({But not the hasty} 29...
Rxe3 $2 30. Ng5 $1 Rxe1+ 31. Rxe1 fxg5 32. Rxc3 $18 {when all of a sudden
Black can not adequately meet the threats Rc3-c7 and Re1xe8+.}) 30. Rc1 (30.
Bf2 Be8 31. Rg3 Ng8 32. Qh3 Qe7 $17) 30... Rxe3 31. Ng5 Rxe1+ 32. Rxe1 fxg5)
28... Rg4 29. Nf3 Ng8 30. Qh5 Qxh5 31. Rxh5 Rxe3 {[%csl Yc3,Yf3][%cal Re3c3,
Re3f3] Diagram [#] and double attack against the light pieces wins one of them.
}) (27... Rg7 {was not bad neither.}) 28. Nf3 Bd7 29. Kf2 Be8 {Instead Black
was clearly better after} (29... Ng8 $1 30. Qh5 Qg7 31. Rg3 Nh6 {Diagram [#]
With the threat, say} 32. b5 Rxg3 33. hxg3 Ng4+ 34. Ke2 c3 $1 {and wins.}) 30.
Rg3 Ng8 31. Qh3 Bd7 ({Here} 31... Qg7 32. Ng1 Nh6 {is not as effective due to}
33. Ne2) 32. b5 {The idea behind the b2-b4 move is revealed. The bishop can
finally breath.} Re8 33. Ng1 $1 {[%cal Gg1e2,Ge2c3,Rd2b4,Gg3f3] Diagram [#] A
nice regroupment by White. He intends Bd2-b4 as well as Ng1-e2-c3. More
importantly- he opened the f3 square for his rook.} a5 ({If Black tries to
reroute his knight to e4 with} 33... Ne7 34. Ne2 Nc8 {then} 35. Bb4 {comes
just in time.}) ({Similar is} 33... Ra8 34. Ne2 a6) 34. bxa6 Ra8 35. Ne2 Rxa6
36. Bb4 Kg7 ({The black king migth be vulnerable as the following line shows}
36... b5 37. a5 Ne7 38. Rb1 Nc6 39. Be1 b4 40. Bxb4 Nxb4 41. Rxb4 Rxa5 42. Rxg4
fxg4 43. Qh6 $16) (36... h5 37. Nc3) ({Perhaps it was time to secure half a
point with} 36... Rxa4 37. Rxa4 Rxg3 38. Nxg3 Bxa4 39. Qxf5 $11 {Diagram [#]})
37. Nc3 h5 38. Kg1 {Opens the road for the kingside rook.} (38. Rf3 {at one
was more precise.}) 38... Nh6 $6 {After this the white rook gets back into
play and tables are turned into Caruana's favour. There was better idea:} (
38... Ne7 {Diagram [#]} 39. Bxe7 (39. Rf3 Nc6) 39... Qxe7 {When tactics seem
to work for Black} 40. Nxd5 (40. Qxh5 $2 Rxg3 41. hxg3 Qxe3+) 40... Qe4 41. Nc3
Qc2 42. e4 b5 $1 {and it seems as Black is happier thanks to his more active
queen.}) 39. Rf3 $1 {Now that the rook comes out of the prison it becomes
clear that the one on g4 is lost in the translation.} Ra8 40. Rf2 Kh7 41. Qf3 {
[%csl Yb6,Yd5,Yf5,Yh5][%cal Gf3d5,Rf2b2,Ra1b1,Rb1b6] Diagram [#] It was not
only the rook that came into the game...} Bc6 42. Rb2 h4 43. Ba3 {Black has
too many things to worry about- b6, d5, f5 and h4 pawns are too weak.} Rag8 (
43... Bxa4 44. Qxd5 $16) 44. Kh1 Ba8 45. Rg1 Qe6 46. Rb5 R4g7 47. Bc1 $1 {
[%csl Yh4][%cal Gc1d2,Gd2e1,Ge1f2] Diagram [#] The bishop looked active on a3,
but on e1 it will become and effective piece.} Rg6 48. Bd2 R8g7 49. Rb2 Nf7 50.
h3 {The weaknesses can no longer be held.} Rg3 (50... Nh6 51. Be1 $1) (50...
Rh6 51. Rgb1 $1) 51. Qh5+ Nh6 52. Qxh4 Qg8 53. Be1 R3g6 54. Qh5 {[%csl Yb6,Yd5,
Yf5,Rh6,Rh7] Diagram [#]} ({White could have taken the pawn at once, but
Caruana knows it has nowhere to go} 54. Rxb6 Rxg2 55. Rxg2 Rxg2 56. Bf2) 54...
Re7 55. Bf2 Reg7 56. Qf3 Qd8 57. Bh4 Qd6 58. Rgb1 {Diagram [#] It is amazing
how quickly Black's promising position detoriated...} Qa3 59. Be1 Qe7 60. g3
Nf7 61. Rxb6 Rh6 62. Ra6 Qe8 63. Kg2 Qc8 64. Rbb6 1-0

Report.

The Perfect Must-Win Game

In a short match of two games it is quite easy to get your back to the wall. This is exactly what happened to Michael Adams after losing his first game to Victor Laznicka at the second round of the World Cup. He, however managed to coma back in the classical part of the match:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.09.15"]
[Round "11.15"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Laznicka, Viktor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2742"]
[BlackElo "2676"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:15:53"]
[BlackClock "0:06:11"]

{A must win situation for Adams.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5.
Nc3 a6 {And a mini-surprise by Laznicka. Even though this is one of his pet
lines, he had not played it since 2013.} 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. O-O Nf6 9.
Qf3 Be7 10. Qg3 O-O 11. Bh6 Ne8 12. Bf4 Bh4 13. Qf3 Be7 ({The trade of one of
the attacking white pieces makes sense} 13... Bg5 $5 14. e5 Bxf4 15. Qxf4 c5 {
as in Nepomniachtchi,I (2705)-Andreikin,D (2720) Moscow 2015}) 14. Na4 $1 $146
{[%cal Gc2c4,Gb2b3] Diagram [#] A strong, fundamental novelty. Adams intends
to stop the opponent's play in the center and on the queenside and start
kingside attack.} ({Previously only the obvious} 14. Rad1 {has been seen. After
} Nf6 15. h3 Nd7 16. Qg3 Bh4 17. Qh2 Ra7 18. Na4 Re8 {Black managed to hold in
Nepomniachtchi,I (2714)-Grachev,B (2669) Kazan 2014}) 14... Nf6 15. b3 Qa5 ({
Black cannot win the bishop pair as after} 15... dxe4 16. Bxe4 Nxe4 17. Qxe4
Bb7 18. Rad1 {Diagram [#] his queen lacks good squares} Qc8 (18... Qa5 19. Rd7)
19. Nb6 $18) ({Perhaps} 15... Bb7 {was better} 16. e5 Nd7 17. c4 $14 {At least
Black stops the kingside advance for the time being. Next he can try to
fianchettoe the dark-squared bishop.}) 16. e5 $1 {The attack can be successful
only with the center closed.} Nd7 17. Qg3 {With the threat Bf4-h6.} Re8 18. h4
c5 19. c4 $1 {[%csl Yc5,Yd5,Rg8][%cal Gh4h5,Gh5h6] Diagram [#] Once that the
center is blocked White can concentrate his efforts on the kingside.} d4 20. h5
Qc7 21. Rae1 {[%csl Ge5,Yg8][%cal Ge1e5,Rh1h8,Rb1h7,Rg3g8] Overprotects the
key e5 square. In case of a need, White can also lift this rook along the
fourth rank. It is curious to find out that the computer considers this
position equal. For the human eye it is very obvious that White has all the
play, it is quite one-sided. He can prepare the attack in many ways- along the
fourth rank, along the h file, battery on the b1-h7 diagonal. And if these
resources are not enough, he can redeploy the knight from a4 to d3-f4 and h5.
At the same time Black does not even have room to maneuver on the kingside.}
Bf8 ({The same computer suggests now as best the defense} 21... Kh8 22. h6 Rg8
{which only shows how bad Black's position is.}) 22. Bg5 g6 {This makes things
easier for White as he now has a clear target. However, standing should not
help neither, for example} (22... Bb7 23. f4 Qc6 24. Re2 a5 {and now say
battery with} 25. Bc2 {[%csl Rh7][%cal Rg3d3,Rc2h7] Diagram [#] and Qg3-d3.
Sooner or later Black will have to weaken his kingside.}) 23. f4 Bg7 24. Qh4 {
Adams simply doubles his pieces on the h file.} Bb7 25. Kf2 $1 {Diagram [#]}
Rf8 ({Nothing changes} 25... Qc6 26. Be4 Qc7 27. Bxb7 Qxb7 28. Rh1 $18) ({If}
25... Nf8 26. Bf6 Bxf6 27. exf6 {and White will find a way to reach the black
king via the dark squares or the h file.}) 26. Rh1 f5 {Desperation.} 27. hxg6
hxg6 28. Qh7+ Kf7 29. Rh6 {Diagram [#] A very convincing win for the English
top GM.} 1-0

Adams then managed to win the rapid-blitz game(s) at the end of a long and exhausting match.
Report.

The Exchange Sacrifice

Shamkir continues to please the chess lovers all over the world. Round seven saw an interesting battle between Vishy Anand and Mickey Adams. The Indian GM sacrificed the exchange and...

[Event "Shamkir Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.04.24"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2791"]
[BlackElo "2746"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:24:04"]
[BlackClock "0:30:18"]

1. c4 {These days the top players try to mainly surprise their opponents in
the opening and to avoid the heavy home preparation. To get some psychological
advantage too. This aproach is quite unpleasant against a player who is not
doing well in the opening. And Anand chooses the English opening which he
plays very rarely.} e5 2. g3 c6 {Adams also replies with a surprise in return.
He had used the reversed Alapin in 2008 and for Anand this is already new.} 3.
Nf3 ({That only game of the Englishman went} 3. d4 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ 5. Qxd2 d6
6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Bg2 O-O 8. e3 Nbd7 $11 {Miezis,N (2540)-Adams,M (2735) Liverpool
2008}) 3... e4 4. Nd4 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nc2 Nf6 7. Nc3 Qh5 8. Ne3 {[%csl Ye4]
[%cal Gf1g2,Gg2e4,Gc3e4,Gd1c2,Gc2e4] Diagram [#] This position is already very
fresh and has been since only once in over-the-board game. White prepares to
pressurize the exposed e4 pawn and opens the road for the queen.} ({The
complications arising after} 8. d3 exd3 9. Qxd3 Na6 10. Bg2 Bh3 $5 11. Bf3 Qg6
12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. Qxa6 Rd8 {are not everyone's cup of tea, Svidler,P (2753)
-Topalov,V (2772) Flor & Fjaere 2014}) (8. h3 {is another move.}) 8... Bc5 {A
solid reaction. In case of} (8... Bh3 9. Qb3 $1 b5 10. Qc2 Bxf1 11. Rxf1 Qe5
12. f3 exf3 13. Rxf3 $14 {Black's position has too many lose ends, Berkes,F
(2606)-Borisek,J (2508) Heraklio 2007}) (8... Na6 $5 {deserves attention in
order to torture the queen anytime it comes to c2.}) 9. Qc2 Bxe3 ({Or else
Black loses the pawn} 9... O-O 10. Nxe4) 10. fxe3 {[%csl Ye4,Rf6][%cal Gf1g2,
Gh1f1,Gf1f4,Gf4e4,Yf4f6] Diagram [#] Anand wants to use the half-open file to
possibly lift the rook on f4 and increase the pressure on e4. And for
something more...} Qe5 11. Bg2 Bf5 12. O-O O-O 13. b3 $146 {The novelty.} ({An
email game went} 13. b4 Nbd7 14. Bb2 Qe6 15. b5 Rac8 16. Qb3 Rfd8 17. Rac1 Nc5
18. Qxe6 Bxe6 19. Rc2 Bd7 20. bxc6 Bxc6 {and Black managed to solve the
problem of the e4 pawn, Littke,H (2254)-Kolek,P (2399) ICCF email 2011}) 13...
Nbd7 14. Bb2 Qe6 {One more move and Adams will cement his position for good
with Bf5-g6. But...} 15. Rxf5 $1 {Diagram [#] A nice positional sacrifice of
the exchange. White wins the cetral pawn for it and the bishop pair. It is
interesting that both players did not evaluate the position similarly. Adams
considered it perfectly OK, while Anand thought it is easier to play as White.}
Qxf5 16. Nxe4 Qg6 $1 {The best defense. Or else White will point his bishops
towards the kingside with} (16... Nxe4 17. Bxe4 Qh5 18. Rf1 {[%cal Gf1f4,Gf4h4,
Rc2h7,Rb2g7] followed by Rf4-h4 and attack (Anand).}) 17. Rf1 Rfe8 18. Bxf6 {
Tit for tat. White destroys the pawn structure in front of the enemy king.}
Nxf6 19. Nxf6+ gxf6 20. e4 Rad8 21. Rf4 {[%cal Gg2h3,Gh3f5,Rf4h4,Rh4h7,Yc2d2,
Yd2h6,Yd2d3] Diagram [#] Anand's plan is to bring the bishop on f5, play d2-d3,
bring teh rook to h4 and attack the kingside with Qd2-h6.} Qh5 $1 {Adams
hurries to escape from the danger zone.} 22. d3 Qe5 23. Bh3 Kg7 24. Kg2 h5 $5 {
An interesting pawn sacrifice. Black manages to temporary exclude the rook
from the game.} ({Something solid like} 24... Rh8 {was also possible.}) 25. Rf5
Qd4 26. Rxh5 {[%csl Yh5] Diagram [#]} Qe3 27. Rh4 ({One point behind the pawn
sacrifice is demonstrated by Anand. The rook cannot come back at once} 27. Rf5
$2 Rxe4 $1 {works well for Black with the idea} 28. dxe4 Rd2 29. Qc4 b5 30. Qc5
Rxe2+ 31. Kh1 Re1+ 32. Bf1 Rxf1+ 33. Kg2 Rf2+ 34. Kh3 Qh6+ {and Black wins.})
27... Re5 28. Rf4 {White's chances are connected with the kingside attack and
for this reason he should not allow any trades of the heavy pieces.} ({Another
problem is revealed by the line} 28. Bf5 Rh8 $1 29. Rf4 $2 ({Black would be
happy to trade the rooks and kill the attacking potential of his opponent} 29.
Rxh8 Kxh8 {when only Black can play for the win.}) 29... Rc5 30. Qb2 Rc1 {and
wins.}) 28... Rc5 29. Qb2 Rd6 30. Rf1 a5 {Adams placed his pieces in a very
good way and now improves the mobile pawns.} 31. Bf5 b5 32. h4 {Diagram [#]} ({
Anand also considered the pawn sacrifice} 32. b4 axb4 33. Rf3 Qd4 34. Qd2 {in
order to return to his original idea of kingside attack, but at the end
decided that it was too risky.}) 32... Rd8 $2 {"The decisive blunder" (Anand)
"Awful move" (Adams). The English GM missed a nice tactical regroupment.
Instead many moves lead to dinamic equality:} (32... b4 $5 $11) (32... a4 $5 {
In both case White cannot effectively use his queen in the attack due to the
weakness of the b3 and e2 pawns.}) ({They also considered} 32... Qd4 {good for
Black, but this is questionable as it allows the white queen a kingside sortie}
33. Qd2 Rd8 34. h5 {and White is definitely better.}) 33. a3 b4 34. axb4 axb4
35. Be6 $1 {[%csl Gc4,Rd8,Rf6,Yg7][%cal Ge6c4,Rb2f6,Rf6d8,Gb3c4,Gd3c4] Diagram
[#] The bishop is rerouted to the optimal c4 square from where it cements the
queenside while attacking the f7 pawn. Black's position immediately becomes
bad.} Rc3 ({The bishop is full of poison} 35... fxe6 36. Qxf6+ {is mate in
seven.}) ({Noweven the endgame is lost for Black as Anand explained} 35... Qd4
36. Qxd4 Rxd4 37. Bc4 {[%csl Ge3][%cal Gg3g4,Gg2f3,Gf3e3] followed by g3-g4,
Kg2-f3-e3, and later g4-g5 which will win the pawn on f7.}) 36. Bc4 {White
cemented the position and can get rid of the opponent's queen easily. After
that his queen comes into the game and the step-by-step attack is unstoppable.}
Ra8 37. Rf5 Ra7 38. Rf3 Qc5 (38... Qh6 $5 {was more stubborn.}) 39. Qd2 Qd6 40.
Qe3 {Diagram [#] The former world champion is not in a hurry.} (40. Rf5 {with
the threat Rf5-h5 was faster as if} Ra8 41. e5 $1 {destroys the barricades.})
40... Ra5 41. Rf2 Rc2 42. g4 Qd7 43. Qg3 Rc5 44. g5 $1 {The decisive break. It
is again the Bc4 to blame for Black's misery.} (44. e5 {would also do.}) 44...
fxg5 45. Rxf7+ Qxf7 46. Bxf7 Kxf7 47. Qf3+ Kg7 48. h5 {The rest is easy for
Anand.} Ra5 49. Kf2 Rb2 50. h6+ Kg6 51. h7 {Diagram [#] An inspired and
interesting battle!} ({Black resigned as he loses the rook} 51. h7 Kxh7 52.
Qf7+ Kh6 (52... Kh8) 53. Qf6+) 1-0

Report.

Shamkir Starts with Two Decisive Games

The first round of the super tournament in memory of Vugar Gashimov Shamkir started with two white wins and three draws. The former world champion Vladimir Kramnik won in his trademark style against the English GM Michael Adams.

[Event "Shamkir Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.04.17"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2783"]
[BlackElo "2746"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:31"]
[BlackClock "0:00:05"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. d4 {It seems as the
Catalan is an opening specifically designed for Vladimir Kramnik. Small, but
lasting edge, no couterplay at all for the opponent, this suits his style
perfectly fine.} dxc4 7. Ne5 Nc6 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. Nxc6 Qe8 10. Nxe7+ Qxe7 {
Kramnik had tried this line twice at two different Candidates tournament.} 11.
Na3 {[%csl Yc4][%cal Ga3c4] Diagram [#] This is what he also did against Anand
in Khanty an year ago.} ({Against the future world champion he tried} 11. Qc2
e5 12. Rd1 Rb8 13. Nc3 h6 14. dxe5 Qxe5 15. Bf4 Qe7 16. Rd4 Be6 17. Rad1 {with
slight edge for White, Kramnik,V (2810)-Carlsen,M (2872) London 2013}) ({The
main move remains} 11. Qa4) 11... c5 ({Marin's recommendation was recently
tested by Naroditsky} 11... Rd8 12. Qc2 Rxd4 13. Nxc4 Qc5 14. b3 Rd8 15. Ba3
Qh5 16. f3 {although Black managed to win later, the opening seems to favor
White, Kjartansson,G (2439)-Naroditsky,D (2601) Saint Louis 2014}) 12. dxc5
Qxc5 13. Be3 Qc6 $146 {[%csl Rg2][%cal Rb7g2] Diagram [#] A novelty. It has
been though already mentioned by GM Marin as well.} ({Taken by surprise in
Khanty Anand chose} 13... Qh5 14. f3 c3 $1 15. bxc3 Qa5 16. Qc1 Ba6 17. c4 Rac8
{and kept the game leveled, Kramnik- Anand, FIDE Candidates, Khanty Mansiysk
2014. Or perhaps this was a perfect preparation by Black?}) ({Nakamura solved
the opening problems after} 13... Qb4 14. Qc1 Ba6 15. Bd4 Rfd8 16. Rd1 Rac8 17.
Qc3 Qa4 18. Qc2 Qxc2 19. Nxc2 c3 20. Bxc3 Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Bxe2 {Aronian,L (2797)
-Nakamura,H (2767) Saint Louis 2014}) 14. Rc1 Bb7 15. f3 Ba6 ({The
counter-attacking attempt fails after} 15... Ng4 16. Bd4 e5 17. Rxc4 Qh6 18.
fxg4 $16) 16. Nxc4 Bxc4 17. Qd4 {An improvement upon Marin's line that goes} (
17. b3 Bxb3 (17... Bxe2 {might be better}) 18. Rxc6 Bxd1 19. Rxd1 {with slight
advantage for White (Marin).}) 17... Rfc8 $6 {This does not seem optimal.
Critical is the queen sacrifice after} (17... Nd5 $5 18. Rxc4 {Diagram [#]}
Qxc4 $1 19. Qxc4 Nxe3 20. Qa6 Nxf1 21. Kxf1 {White has a queen and a pawn for
the two rooks and chances for the advantage, but the rooks seem quite strong
as well.}) 18. b3 Qa6 19. bxc4 Qxa2 20. Kf2 $14 {Now White is a little better.
His pieces are more centralized and the bishop is clearly stronger than the
knight.} (20. Bg5 $5 {at once is also interesting.}) 20... a5 21. Bg5 {This
move is definitely part of White's plan but White should have prepared it with}
(21. Rfd1 $14) 21... e5 $1 {Strong play by Adams who almost equalizes after
this.} 22. Qd6 ({Naturally not} 22. Qxe5 $2 Re8) 22... Rd8 23. Qb6 {Diagram [#]
} Rab8 $6 {It is somewhat reliefing that even at the top level players tend to
chose the wrong rook. After the correct:} (23... Rdb8 $1 {White will lack the
nice resource that he used in the game. He will still be somewhat better after}
24. Qe3 ({Or} 24. Qc6 Rc8 25. Qb5 Rab8 26. Ra1 Rxb5 27. Rxa2 Rxc4 28. Rfa1 $11)
24... a4 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. c5 a3 27. c6 Qb2 28. c7 Rc8 29. Rc4 {but Adams
would have decent chances for a draw.}) 24. Rfd1 $1 {Kramnik immediately
seizes the chance to occupy the open file with a tempo.} Re8 ({Alas, the queen
is untouchable} 24... Rxb6 25. Rxd8+ Ne8 26. Rxe8#) 25. Qe3 a4 ({In the line}
25... Re6 26. Bxf6 Rxf6 27. Qxe5 {Black has no time to play Rf6-e6 as the
other one hangs.}) 26. Bxf6 gxf6 27. Qe4 {Kramnik opened the enemy king and
now intends to combine the threats against the king with the advance of the
passed c pawn. Black's defense is extremely difficult.} ({The computer claims
that a better idea is to push at once} 27. c5 {but Kramnik remained true to
his style and avoided any counter-play connected with} e4) 27... a3 28. Rd7 {
Diagram [#] The culmination of the game.} Rbd8 $2 {Once again Adams chooses
the wrong rook!} (28... Red8 {would have been better, keeping both the open
files under control. If Black manages to trade a pair of rooks, he would
survive.} 29. Rcd1 (29. Ra7 Qb2 {and there is no Rc1-b1!}) 29... Rxd7 30. Rxd7
Qb3 {Compare this position with the one after 30...Qc3 from below.}) 29. Ra7 $1
Qb2 30. Rb1 {Two rooks in the attack and a queen can paint plenty of checkmate
pictures...} f5 {Desperation, but there was no way out.} ({Like the one after}
30... Qc3 31. Rxf7 $1 {[%csl Rg8][%cal Gb1b7,Ge4h7] Diagram [#]} Kxf7 32. Rb7+
{This is the difference. One rook is destroying the king's castle, the second
one assists the queen. Black is checkmated after both} {and} Kf8 (32... Ke6 33.
Qc6+ Kf5 34. g4+ Kg6 (34... Kg5 35. Rg7+ Kh4 36. Qxf6+ Kh3 37. Qh6#) 35. Qe4+)
33. Qxh7) 31. Rxb2 fxe4 32. Rxa3 Rd4 33. Rc2 Rc8 34. c5 exf3 35. Rxf3 {Kramnik
won a pawn and all his pieces are ideally placed.} Rc6 36. Rd3 Rxd3 37. exd3 f5
38. d4 $1 {[%csl Yc6][%cal Gf2e2,Ge2d3,Gd3d4,Gd4d5] Opens the road for the
king. Black resigned after} exd4 39. Ke2 {An excellent start for the former
world champion!} 1-0

Full report by Peter Doggers.

Carlsen Takes Early Lean in Baden-Baden

The world champion Magnus Carlsen took an early lead at the Grenke Super tournament after defeating Michael Adams in a typical, positional style. Mickey was Magnus'second at the recent WC match in Sochi, which did not prevent the Norwegian from surprising him in the opening. The novelty promised Carlsen slight, but durable positional advantage:

[Event "GRENKE Chess Classic 2015"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.02.03"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2865"]
[BlackElo "2738"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:37:54"]
[BlackClock "0:28:40"]

1. c4 e5 {The reversed Sicilian that is.} 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 {The
reversed Rossolimo line.} 5. Nd5 (5. Bg2 {is considered the main line but the
move in the game scoes better for White, at least by percentage.}) 5... Bc5 6.
Bg2 d6 7. O-O O-O 8. d3 ({Adams has experience in this line. A couple years
ago he drew comfortably against the current number three in the world after} 8.
e3 a6 9. d3 Ba7 10. Nxf6+ Qxf6 11. Bd2 Qg6 {Grischuk,A (2785)-Adams,M (2752)
Warsaw 2013}) 8... Nxd5 9. cxd5 Nd4 {Mickey trades the second knight, thus
freeing his position a bit.} (9... Ne7 {is the other option.}) 10. Nxd4 exd4 {
The idea is to create counter play against the backward pawn on e2.} ({The
other capture is also possible} 10... Bxd4 11. e3 Bb6 {Next both the sides are
trying to grab space on the kingside with f2-f4-f5 for White and f7-f5-f4 for
Black!} 12. Kh1 Bd7 13. Bd2 Qe8 14. a4 a5 15. f4 f5 16. Re1 Qf7 {and
approximate equality in Grachev,B (2705)-Mchedlishvili,M (2626) Tashkent 2012})
11. Bd2 {Magnus wants to expand on the queenside, but Black is alert.} a5 12.
e4 {Naturally, the World Champion does not want to wait and see the black
heavy pieces piled towards his pawn.} dxe3 13. fxe3 Qg5 14. Rf4 $146 {A
novelty, technically speaking. All of this has been seen previously with White
continuing} (14. d4 {first and only after} Bb6 15. Rf4 {After} Bd7 16. Qc2 a4
17. Raf1 Qe7 {Black seemed very stable in Kiselev,V (2505)-Garakov,M (2412)
Lugansk 2007}) 14... Bd7 ({Perhaps it made sense for Black to avoid the game
continuation with} 14... a4 $5 15. Qc2 Bd7 {which would most likely transpose
into the previously played game after} 16. d4 Bb6) 15. a4 $1 {Diagram [#] In
fact this is the actual novelty in comparison to the game Kiselev-Garakov from
above. Magnus' idea is to fix the pawn on a5 and attack the queenside later
with b2-b4.} Rae8 ({Looking into the future it made sense for Adams to keep
the queenside rook where it was to anticipate White's play there} 15... Rfe8 $5
) 16. d4 Bb6 17. Qb3 $1 ({The immediate} 17. b4 {does not give much after} Ra8
(17... axb4 18. a5) 18. Qb3 Qe7 19. bxa5 (19. Qc4 $2 axb4 20. Qxb4 Ba5 $15)
19... Bxa5 20. Bxa5 Rxa5 {as White does not have time to win the pawn} 21. Qxb7
Qxe3+) 17... Qd8 18. Qc4 {[%cal Gd1b3,Gb3c4,Rb2b4] The point behind Carlsen's
maneuver. The queen is optimally placed and actively supports the queenside
attack.} Re7 ({The queen is not as good a defender as the rook} 18... Qa8 19.
b4 axb4 20. a5 Bxa5 21. Bxb4 b6 22. Qxc7 {is advantageous for White.}) 19. b4
axb4 ({White also has a pull after} 19... Qa8 20. Qc3 axb4 21. Qxb4 $14) 20. a5
Ba7 21. Qxb4 $14 {[%csl Ga5,Gd5][%cal Ga5b6,Gd5c6] The opening strategy of the
World Champion succeeded. The advanced pawns on a5 and d5 squeeze the black
forces and White has annoying pressure on the queenside. Mickey tries to free
himself at once.} c5 $1 (21... Bc8 22. Rc1 {looks grim for Black.}) 22. dxc6
Bxc6 23. Qb3 Bxg2 24. Kxg2 Qd7 {[%csl Ya5,Yb7,Yd6,Ye3,Gf1,Gf4][%cal Gd2a5,
Gd2e3,Ga1f1,Gf1f7,Gb1b7] The situation had changed. The doubled d pawn is gone
and the black b and d pawns were separated, thus they became clear targets. On
the other hand, the white bishop is seemingly not the greatest piece ever, but
so is his counterpart. White keeps pressure thanks to the fact that his
heavy pieces are more active and exert pressure. They are actively assisted by
the "poor" bishop that effectively shuts both the a and e semi-open files for
Black.} (24... d5 $4 {is positionally sound but tactically wrong} 25. Bb4) 25.
Raf1 Rc8 26. Rf5 {This prevents d6-d5 and prepares rook transfer along the
fifth rank.} h6 {Adams did not feel the danger. Correct was} (26... g6 27. Rb5
(27. Rf6 d5) 27... h5 {which would have stopped White's activity on the
kingside. The pawn weaknesses on b7 and d6 are very close to each other and
can be defended relatively easily.}) 27. R1f2 Bb8 28. Bb4 Qc6+ 29. R2f3 {The
queen swap will lead to a draw after} (29. Qd5 Qxd5+ 30. Rxd5 Rxe3 31. Bxd6 Rd8
32. Bf4 Rxd5 33. Bxe3 Rxa5 34. Rb2 b5 35. Kf3 $11) 29... Rcc7 30. Be1 Qe8 {It
was not too late to go for} (30... g6 $1 31. Rd5 h5 $11) 31. g4 $1 {Diagram [#]
Now the bishop can be actively used on the h4-d8 diagonal. Magnus also intends
to further advance the pawns on the kingside and open the game there. Thus, he
will create one more weakness- the black king and thanks to the extra space he
can be much more effective in maneuvering on both sides of the board.} Re4 32.
h3 Rce7 33. Bf2 R4e6 $2 {A blunder. However, White was making progress after
both} (33... Rc7 34. Rb5 Ree7 35. Rb6 Red7 36. Qd5 $16) ({Perhaps,} 33... Ba7 {
was the lesser evil} 34. Rb5 Qc8 35. Qd5 $14 {Although White is better here as
well.}) 34. Rb5 Bc7 {The pawn cannot be saved} (34... Qc8 35. a6) (34... Qc6 $4
35. d5) 35. Rxb7 Qa8 {Adams decided that this is the lesser evil in comparison
to the absolute pin after} (35... Bxa5 36. Rb8 Bd8 37. Bh4 Rd7 38. Qb5 {[%csl
Rd7][%cal Rb5d7]} f6 39. Qd5) 36. Rb5 $16 {Diagram [#] The long grinding was
effective as usual with Magnus. He won a pawn and now starts converting it.}
Re8 37. Qd5 Qxd5 38. Rxd5 Rb8 39. Bg3 g6 40. h4 Ra8 41. Be1 Re4 42. g5 h5 {A
strange decision. The defender should trade pawns as a rule} (42... hxg5 43.
hxg5) 43. Rb5 Ra7 44. Kf1 Re8 45. Ke2 Rea8 46. Rf6 Ra6 (46... Bxa5 47. Rxa5
Rxa5 48. Bxa5 Rxa5 49. Rxd6 {leads to the same.}) 47. Bb4 {Magnus correctly
evaluated the rook endgame as won.} Bxa5 48. Rxa5 Rxa5 49. Bxa5 Rxa5 50. Rxd6
Kf8 51. Rf6 Ra3 52. Kf3 Ke7 53. Ke4 Ra5 ({Or} 53... Ke8 54. Rf4 ({Worse is} 54.
d5 Ra4+ 55. Ke5 Rxh4) 54... Ke7 55. d5 Kd6 56. Rf6+ $1 Ke7 57. Rb6 Ra4+ 58. Ke5
Rxh4 59. d6+ Kd7 60. Rb7+ Ke8 61. Re7+ Kf8 62. Kf6 $18) 54. Rf4 $1 {[%cal
Gd4d5,Ge4e5] Diagram [#] The rook defends the fourth rank and enables the
further reinforcement of the position with d4-d5 and Ke4-e5. The game is
decided.} Rb5 55. d5 Rb3 56. Kd4 Ra3 57. e4 Rb3 58. Ke5 Rd3 59. Rf1 $1 Rh3 60.
Ra1 Rxh4 61. d6+ Kd7 62. Ra7+ Ke8 63. Ra8+ Kd7 64. Rf8 {A nice positional win
for the World Champion who takes the sole lead.} 1-0

Report.

Vishy Wins!

Photo © John Saunders

The former world champion Vishy Anand said it right at the after-game analyzes: "I knew that with the soccer system the tournament definitely cannot be won. But there is a very high probability to end on last place." Which already speaks a lot about his attitude towards the last game at the LCC. Still, a silent Berlin quickly appeared on the board:

[Event "6th London Chess Classic"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2014.12.14"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Anand , Viswanathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2745"]
[BlackElo "2793"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {I can almost hear the sigh of disbelief from
Anand's admirers when the Berlin appeared on the board. It has the reputation
of a very solid and drawish opening, but like I mentioned this many times
already it is also played for a win at the highest level.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4
Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 {Vishy had tried many
sublines in the Berlin and today he opted for the "modern" positioning of the
king.} 10. Nc3 h5 11. Rd1 {Diagram [#] I read somewhere that Mickey was the
secret Anti-Berlin weapon for Magnus Carlsen in the WCC in Sochi this year.} ({
Adams deviates from a game that was played less than a month ago} 11. Ne2 b6
12. Rd1 Ba6 13. Nf4 Bb7 {This was an excellent novelty which solved Black's
problems at once.} 14. e6 Bd6 15. exf7+ Kxf7 16. Ng5+ Kf6 17. Ne4+ Kf7 18. Ng5+
Kf6 19. Ne4+ Kf7 20. Ng5+ {1/2 (20) Carlsen,M (2863)-Anand,V (2792) Sochi 2014}
) 11... Be7 12. g3 b6 13. a4 Bb7 $146 {Curiously, it is once again Anand who
produces a novelty and once more it is the Bb7 move!} ({Previously} 13... a5 {
had been played by a great expert of the Berlin wall} 14. Bf4 Rg8 15. Ng5 Bb7
16. Rd3 Ba6 17. Rd2 Rd8 18. Rad1 Bc8 19. Kh2 Rxd2 20. Rxd2 Bd8 $11 {Efimenko,Z
(2689)-Bacrot,E (2705) Germany 2012}) 14. a5 ({The generally desirable trade
of the dark-squared bishops allows a fine square for the black king} 14. Bg5
Bxg5 15. Nxg5 Ke7 $11) 14... c5 {Vishy believes that the pawn thrust is not as
dangerous and that the long diagonal is of a greater importance,} 15. Nd5 Bd8 (
{The curious pawn sacrifice} 15... Rd8 16. Nxc7+ Kf8 17. Rxd8+ Bxd8 {where the
two white knights are hanging is not that appealing once that Black spots the
line} 18. axb6 axb6 19. Ne1 Bxc7 20. Ra7 $1) 16. Bg5 ({However Mickey could
have tried} 16. c4 $5 {at once with his knight controlling the d4 square.}) ({
Nothing gives} 16. axb6 axb6 17. Rxa8 Bxa8 $11) 16... Rf8 $1 {Diagram [#]
"This move was very important and I still have that counterplay along the
diagonal if he takes the pawn"- Vishy} ({he former world champion was also
considering} 16... Bxd5 17. Rxd5 Bxg5 18. Nxg5 Ke7 {but he was not sure that
the pawn sacrifice will be sound after} 19. Rad1 ({However, there was also the
typical central strike} 19. e6 $1 fxe6 20. Re1 $16 {with the tactical point}
Kf6 21. Rxe6+ Kxg5 22. f4#) 19... Rhd8 (19... Nd4 20. c3 $1 {wins for White})
20. Rxd8 Rxd8 21. Rxd8 Kxd8 22. Nxf7+ Ke7 {Sometimes this is enogh for an
equality stated Anand, but maybe not here, for instance} 23. Ng5 Nd4 24. c3
Ne2+ 25. Kf1 Nc1 26. a6 $1 (26. axb6 cxb6 $1) 26... Nd3 27. f4 Nxb2 ({Or} 27...
h4 28. Ke2 c4 29. gxh4 Nxf4+ 30. Ke3 Nd3 31. Nf3 Nxb2 32. Nd4 $16) 28. Ke2 $16)
17. c4 {Vishy did not like this move as it weakens the d4 square. This is an
excellent outpost for the black knight.} ({If White wants equality he could go
for} 17. Bxd8 {but Adams was still hoping for something more} Bxd5 18. Rxd5
Rxd8 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. axb6 axb6 21. Ra8+ Ke7 $11) 17... Bxd5 18. Rxd5 ({
Nobody mentioned the other capture} 18. cxd5 $5 {but my feeling is that it was
good for White thanks to this little tactics} Bxg5 19. axb6 $1 {and if Black
keeps the bishop} Be7 (19... cxb6 {might be better but now Black will not be
able to undermine the white pawn center with c7-c6 like in the game.} 20. Nxg5
Nd4 21. Kg2 (21. f4 $5) 21... f6 22. exf6 gxf6 23. Re1+ Kd7 24. Ne6 $36) 20.
bxc7 {he is definitely in trouble. Just look at the white pawn mass in the
center!}) 18... Bxg5 19. Nxg5 Ke7 {[%cal Ga8d8] Diagram [#] Now Black
equalizes ad starts thinking of something more.} 20. Kg2 ({This time} 20. Rad1
{does not work to} Nd4 $1 {as there is no c2-c3 resource.}) 20... Nd4 21. Rd1 (
{One little nice trick was pointed by Vishy} 21. b4 Ne6 $1 {wins a pawn for
Black.}) 21... Rad8 {The knight on d4 holds black's position together until he
trades a pair of rooks. Once that the penetration on the seventh rank is out
of the question, Black can start attacking the overexposed pawn(s) on e5 and
possible d5.} ({Another idea was} 21... c6 22. Rd6 f6 23. Ne4 fxe5 24. Rg6 {"I
did not see Black getting anywhere" Anand.}) 22. Nf3 ({If} 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23.
axb6 axb6 24. Ne4 {Black can go for the e5 pawn at once} Ke6 25. Ng5+ Kf5 26.
Nxf7 Rf8) 22... c6 ({Vishy was also considering the move} 22... Rxd5 {with the
idea to attack the white pawns later, but saw a nice idea for Mickey} 23. cxd5
Nxf3 (23... Nb3 24. axb6 axb6 25. d6+ (25. Nh4) 25... Kd7 26. Ng5 Nd4 27. dxc7
Kxc7 28. Ra1 $132) 24. Kxf3 f6 25. e6 Rd8 26. Ke4 {[%cal Gf2f4,Gf4f5] Diagram
[#] with the idea of a fast f2-f4-f5, when the undermining move} c6 $2 {fails
to} 27. dxc6 $1 Rxd1 28. c7 {and White wins.}) 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Ng5 ({They
both agreed that White was holding after} 24. axb6 axb6 25. Rd3 Nxf3 26. Rxd8
Nh4+ 27. gxh4 Kxd8 28. f4 g6 29. Kf3 Ke7 30. b3 Ke6 31. Ke4 b5 32. Kd3 Kf5 33.
Ke3 $11) 24... b5 ({The play along the b file is not fast enough} 24... bxa5
25. Ne4 Rb8 26. Nxc5 Ne6 {(Anand) and here strong is} 27. Rd7+ $1 Ke8 28. Rb7)
25. cxb5 cxb5 {Black achieved a lot. He has a very strong knight in the center,
active king and pawn majority on the queenside. It is not pleasant for Adams
at all but it was hard to believe that his position will collapse that soon.}
26. Ne4 Nc6 $1 {A nice winning try.} 27. Rxd8 Kxd8 {[%csl Ya5,Rc5,Ye5] Diagram
[#]} 28. e6 $2 {A mistake. Mickey did not trust his kingside pawns and this
lost the game for him.} ({Also dubious is} 28. a6 $6 Nxe5 29. Nxc5 Kc7 $17) ({
However} 28. f4 $1 {was strong when White has enough counterplay after both}
Nxa5 ({Or} 28... c4 29. Nd6 a6 30. Nxf7+ Kd7 31. Kf3 Nxa5 32. Nd6) 29. Nxc5 Kc7
30. e6 $1 {The key move!} fxe6 (30... f6 $4 31. e7) 31. Nxe6+ Kd6 32. Nxg7 Nc4
33. Nf5+ Kd5 34. Kf3 Nxb2 35. Ne3+ Kd4 (35... Ke6 36. Ke4) 36. g4 hxg4+ 37.
hxg4 {and it should be a draw after say} Nc4 38. Nxc4 Kxc4 39. g5 Kd5 40. g6
Ke6 41. f5+ Kf6 42. Ke4 a5 43. Kd4 b4 $11) 28... fxe6 29. Nxc5 Ke7 $17 {[%csl
Ya5,Yb2][%cal Ge7d6,Gd6d5,Gd5c4,Gc4b3,Yc6a5] Diagram [#] Now that the game
gets one-sided it is the activity of the kings that decides.} 30. Nb3 Kd6 31.
Kf3 Kd5 32. Kf4 Kc4 33. Nc1 ({Anand had already seen the win after the more
resilent} 33. Nd2+ Kd3 34. Nf3 (34. Ne4 e5+ 35. Kf5 g6+ $19) 34... b4 $1 $19 ({
Rather than} 34... Nxa5 35. Ne5+ Kc2 36. b4 Nc4 37. Nc6)) 33... Nxa5 34. Kg5
Nb3 35. Ne2 b4 $1 36. Kxh5 a5 {The rook pawns are most unpleasant for the
knights and this one is unstoppable! This was the only win for the black
pieces at the LCC and it gave the best tie break to Vishy Anand who won the
tournament!} 0-1

Complete report.

Nakamura Wins in Round Four

the only decisive game in round four at the LCC was the one between the American GM Hikaru Nakamura and the local Michael Adams.

[Event "6th London Chess Classic"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2014.12.13"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "2767"]
[BlackElo "2745"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. d4 {After the fascinating Evans gambit Hikaru switches to the semi-closed
openings. Which does not mean that he is up for a lenghty maneuvering battle...
} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Qc2 {Diagram [#] The words with which
Hikaru described his game in the opening are fun to listen "Well, I do not
know, it was interesting, I kind of just played something..."} ({The usual
continuation is} 5. Nc3 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 Ne4 {and this was played by
Nakamura himself with the black pieces recently} 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. Rc1 c6 10. Bd3
Nxc3 11. Rxc3 dxc4 12. Rxc4 Nd7 13. O-O e5 {Aronian,L (2801)-Nakamura,H (2786)
Antalya 2013}) 5... h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. e3 c5 $6 $146 {Adams felt tempted to
use the absence of the white knight on c3 and strike in the center at once. t
will turn out that this attempt is premature and that the American GM had done
his homework well.} ({Instead} 7... O-O {would have transposed into the usual
QGD} 8. Nc3 b6 {and also} (8... c5) ({or} 8... c6 {are normal continuations})
9. O-O-O $5 Bb7 10. cxd5 exd5 {with interesting play.}) 8. cxd5 cxd4 9. Bb5+ {
The forced play is favourable for the first player who is slightly better
developed.} Bd7 10. dxe6 $1 {Diagram [#] A nice temporary piece sacrifice,
which was part of Nakamura's preparation.} (10. Bxd7+ Qxd7 11. dxe6 Qxe6 12.
O-O Nc6 13. exd4 O-O $1 {is nothing for White.}) 10... Qa5+ ({The bishop on b5
is defended tactically} 10... Bxb5 11. exf7+ Kd7 {or else White regains the
piece at once} (11... Ke7 12. Qc5+) (11... Kf8 12. Qc5+) (11... Kxf7 12. Qb3+
$16) 12. Qf5+ Kc6 13. a4 Ba6 14. b4 {and White will regain the material and
will have strong attack fro free} dxe3 15. b5+ Kb6 16. Ra3 exf2+ 17. Kxf2 $18)
11. Nbd2 Qxb5 ({Hikaru revealed at the press-conference that he mainly checked
the line} 11... Bxb5 12. Qc8+ Qd8 (12... Bd8 13. exf7+ Kxf7 14. Qxb7+ Bc7 15.
Nxd4 $1 {[%csl Ra8,Rb5][%cal Rb7a8,Rb7b5] loses heavily material for Black.}) (
{Nigel Short was very excited to play in "immortal style"} 12... Ke7 13. Qxh8 (
13. Qxb7+ Kxe6 {is unclear, to say at least...}) 13... Nd7 14. Qxa8 Nc5 15. Qc8
Nd3+ 16. Kf1 Nf4+ 17. Nc4 {"And that's the end of the excitement" Short.}) 13.
Qxb7 O-O 14. Qxb5 $1 $16 {The key move pointed out by Hikaru. Indeed, the rook
is poisoned} (14. Qxa8 $2 dxe3 15. fxe3 Qd3 16. exf7+ Kh8 17. Kf2 Qe2+ 18. Kg3
Bc6 19. Qxa7 Be5+ 20. Kh3 Bd7+ 21. g4 Rxf7 {with decisive attack for Black} 22.
Nxe5 Bxg4+ 23. Nxg4 Rxa7 $19)) 12. exd7+ Nxd7 13. Qe4+ Kf8 14. Nxd4 Qxb2 15.
Rb1 Qxa2 16. Qxb7 {Diagram [#] All these moves were more or less forced. Now a
curious situation arises where it becomes evident that Black will sooner or
later lose his a pawn and there will be an endgame four versus three on the
kingside. Will this be a win for White or a draw will depend on the
remaining pieces and the pawn structure. For example, very good for White
will be a pure knight endgame which a theoretical win. Very good for Black
will be a single rook endgame which is usually a draw. A critical moment had
arisen and Mickey has to make tough choice.} Rd8 (16... Rb8 $1 {suggested by
Hikaru was better. After} 17. Qxd7 Rxb1+ 18. Nxb1 Qxb1+ 19. Ke2 Qb2+ ({Black
cannot win the rook due to a cunning checkmate} 19... Qxh1 $4 20. Qc8+ Ke7 21.
Nf5# {[%csl Gc8,Re7,Gf5]}) 20. Kf3 g6 21. Qxa7 Bxd4 22. Qxd4 {[%csl Gb2,Rd4,
Rh1,Gh8] Diagram [#] Black will achieve one of the good combinations of pieces
when the game should be objectively a draw} Qb7+ 23. Kg3 Kg8 24. Ra1 Kh7 25.
Ra7 Qb8+ {"should be a draw"- Nakamura, Short.}) 17. Qb4+ ({Initially Nakamura
wanted to play} 17. Nc6 {but then he thought he is losing after} Nc5 $1 18. Qb4
Kg8 19. O-O Na6 {"I completely missed this move" Hikaru} 20. Qg4 h5 {A closer
look at the position reveals that it is a draw} 21. Qh3 Rxd2 22. Qc8+ Kh7 23.
Qf5+ Kg8 ({as Black cannot avoid the repetition with} 23... Kh6 $4 24. Rb5 $1
$18) 24. Qc8+ $11) 17... Kg8 18. O-O {Now logically the endgame in question
appears on the board after the sequence} a5 19. Qc3 Qd5 20. Qc7 Nf8 21. Rb5 Qd7
22. Qxd7 Rxd7 23. N2f3 Bxd4 24. Nxd4 {This weakens the pawn structure but the
knight is a trouble-maker and should be traded.} Ne6 ({The pawn can never be
saved} 24... Ra7 25. Ra1 a4 26. Rb4 a3 27. Rb3 a2 28. Rb2) 25. Nxe6 fxe6 26.
Rxa5 Kf7 27. g4 $1 {[%csl Re6][%cal Gh2h4,Gh4h5,Gg1g2,Gg2g3,Gf1b1,Gb1b5,Gb5e5,
Ga5a6,Ga6e6,Ge5e6,Yf2f4,Yg4g5] Diagram [#] White's plan is to advance the h
pawn to h5, bring the king to g3, eventually attack the e6 pawn with both
rooks (on a6 and e5 for example) and then push f2-f4 and g4-g5. Nakamura
thought that he has decent winning chances with both the rooks on the board
and cosidered the position a draw with a single pair of rooks.} Rc8 {[%cal
Gg1g2,Gg2g3,Gh2h4,Gh4h5,Gf2f4] It should be noted though that Vishy Anand's
classical knowledge and excellent memory gave us a good example to study and
understand the arising endgame. He mentioned the game Karpov-Hort, Waddinxween
1979 where the world champion then managed to win a similar endgame with only
one pair of rooks!} ({From the comment above, Nakamura suggested the idea}
27... Rhd8 28. h4 ({and he thought he needs to keep the two rooks alive with
the passive} 28. Raa1) 28... Rd1 29. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 30. Kg2 {[%cal Gh4h5,Gf2f4,
Gg2f3,Gf3e4]}) 28. Rb1 Rc2 ({Or else White improves the position as above}
28... Rdc7 29. Kg2 Rd7 30. h4 Rdc7 31. h5 Rd7 32. Kg3 Rdc7 33. Rbb5 Rd7 34. f4
{[%csl Ye6][%cal Gb5e5,Ga5a6,Gg4g5]}) 29. Ra8 Rc4 30. h3 h5 {A blunder.
Passive defense was more stubborn.} 31. gxh5 Rh4 32. Rh8 Kf6 ({Alas, the pawn
is untouchable} 32... Rxh3 $2 33. Kg2 Rh4 34. f4 $18 {[%csl Yh4] "The rook is
inboxed" Nakamura.} Rd5 35. Rb7+ Kf6 36. Rf8#) 33. Kh2 $1 {[%cal Rg1g8]
Diagram [#] The g file decides the battle.} Rd5 34. Rf8+ Ke7 35. Rf3 Rf5 ({
Black loses a second pawn after} 35... Rhxh5 36. Rb7+ Rd7 37. Rxd7+ Kxd7 38.
Rf7+) 36. Rxf5 exf5 37. Rg1 Kf6 38. Rg6+ Kf7 39. Rg5 Kf6 (39... f4 40. Rf5+ Ke6
41. Rxf4) 40. f4 {Diagram [#] The rook is lost, Adams resigned. A very nice
example of a nice opening preparation which lasted till the endgame!} 1-0

Complete report.

Giri and Kramnik in the Lead

Two games proved decisive yesterday in London. Vladimir Kramnik won quickly to Hikaru Nakamura and Anish Giri managed to grind down Michael Adams's stubborn defense at the end.

[Event "6th London Chess Classic"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2014.12.11"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2768"]
[BlackElo "2745"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. Nd2 (5. Bd2 {is the more
conventional choice but Anish prepared something interesting for the game.})
5... O-O 6. Ngf3 dxc4 7. Qc2 {[%csl Yh7][%cal Gc2h7] Diagram [#] A tricky
opening line.} ({Caruana had tested the castling twice. His game with Gelfand
saw} 7. O-O b5 8. a4 c6 9. b3 c3 10. Nb1 Bb7 11. Qc2 bxa4 12. Rxa4 c5 13. Nxc3
a5 {with approximately equal chances, Caruana,F (2697)-Gelfand,B (2739)
Amsterdam 2010}) 7... c5 {Anish thought that Mickey was not too familiar with
the line. According to my Megabase, this is the third main move.} ({The main
move is} 7... Nc6 {One recent game saw} 8. Qxc4 Qd5 9. O-O Bxd2 10. Qxd5 exd5
11. Bxd2 Re8 12. e3 Bf5 13. Rfc1 Be4 {and Black held the ballance in Belov,V
(2625)-Tomashevsky,E (2708) Irkutsk 2010}) ({The idea of White's early queen
sortie is revealed in the line} 7... b5 8. a4 $1 c6 (8... bxa4 9. O-O {is very
nice for White who enjoys clear play against the black weak pawns.}) 9. axb5
cxb5 $2 ({Black can avaoid the immediate disater but his position will not be
enviable after} 9... Qd5 10. b6 Ba6 11. bxa7 Bxd2+ 12. Bxd2 Rxa7 13. O-O $16 {
Roiz,M (2579)-Gaprindashvili,V (2415) Warsaw 2005}) 10. Ng5 $1 $18 {White win
at least the exchange as} Nd5 11. Qxh7# {does not look great for the second
player...Giri revealed that a lot of Grandmasters had felt for this idea only
to realize in the process the Nf3-g5! resource.}) 8. dxc5 c3 {It is useful to
break the opponent's pawn chain whenever possible.} 9. bxc3 Bxc5 10. O-O Qc7 ({
More natural seems to be the development of the knight} 10... Nc6 {This was
played three times by Sergey Tiviakov. Giri mentioned the idea} 11. Ng5 ({
Rather than} 11. Ne4 Be7 12. Rd1 Qa5 13. Nd4 Nxd4 14. cxd4 Bd7 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6
16. Bxb7 Rab8 17. Be4 Ba4 18. Qd2 Qd8 19. Ba3 Re8 20. Bc2 Bxc2 21. Qxc2 Bxd4 {
1/2 (21) Riazantsev,A (2621)-Tiviakov,S (2663) Sochi 2007}) 11... h6 12. Nde4
Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Be7 14. Rd1 Qc7 {although the impression is that Black should be
able to gradually equalize. If he did not already.}) 11. Ne4 $146 {[%cal Gg2a8,
Gf4b8] A logical novelty. White clears the road for his pieces.} ({The only
previous game saw the interesting pawn sacrifice} 11. Nc4 $5 {which Tiviakov
decided not to accept} Nbd7 (11... Bxf2+ 12. Rxf2 Qxc4 13. Ba3 Re8 14. Ng5 {
would lead to sharp, lively play instead.}) 12. Qb3 e5 13. a4 Rb8 14. Bg5 Re8
15. a5 Bf8 16. Na3 a6 17. Nc4 b5 18. axb6 Nxb6 19. Nxb6 Rxb6 $11 {Kaidanov,G
(2540)-Tiviakov,S (2520) Torcy 1991}) 11... Nxe4 12. Qxe4 Nd7 13. Bf4 $14 {
White's lead in the development gives him the advantage.} Bd6 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15.
Rfd1 Qc7 (15... Qc5 {can be answered} 16. Rab1 {when the pawn on c3 is
untouchable} (16. Qb4 {is not bad either.}) 16... Qxc3 17. Rbc1 Qa5 18. Rxc8
Raxc8 19. Rxd7 $16) 16. Qb4 {[%csl Yb7,Rc8][%cal Gg2b7,Gb1b8] Black's main
problem is his bishop on c8. If it can come out and jump on c6, everything
will be fine. But since the white bishop dominates on the long diagonal and
the half-open b file is in White's hands this is not easy to achieve. That is
what Catalan is all about!} Nf6 (16... Nc5 17. Nd4 Bd7 18. Nb3 Nxb3 19. axb3
Bc6 20. Qc5 {is aline given by Giri where he believed he wins a pawn. If go a
bit deeper} Qb6 21. Qxb6 axb6 22. Rxa8 Rxa8 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. Rd6 Rc8 25. f4 {
we see that the rook endgame is very unpleasant for Black. The active rook
makes the big difference. Still, from a hinsight this was probably Black's
best chance.}) 17. Nd4 {Opens the g2 monster and threatens Nd4-b5-d6.} a6 18.
Nb3 a5 $6 {An important moment. Adams lures teh queen on c5 in order to win a
tempo for the b7-b6 move and free the bishop. That appears a bit slow though.}
({Giri was afraid of the typical pawn sacrifice} 18... Nd5 $5 19. Bxd5 exd5 20.
Rxd5 Be6 21. Rc5 Qe7 (21... Qd7 $5) 22. Nd4 Bh3 {For the pawn Black has some
play on the light squares and a good bishop. Still, White should be better.})
19. Qc5 Qb8 ({Black loses a pawn in the endgame} 19... Qxc5 20. Nxc5 Rb8 21.
Rab1 b6 22. Rd6 b5 23. a4 b4 24. cxb4 axb4 25. Rd4 $18) 20. Rab1 {Mounts the
pressure along the b file. Mickey will have to sacrifice a pawn to free his
position sooner or later. However Anish missed some counterplay by his
opponent.} (20. Rd6 $5 {not to allow b7-b6 was also good, for example} Nd7 21.
Qa3 Ne5 22. Nd2 Qc7 23. Rb1 {and White dominates.}) 20... b6 21. Qd6 Nd5 $1 {
Or else Black is completely paralized} (21... Qxd6 22. Rxd6 Ra6 (22... Rb8 23.
Nxa5) 23. Nd4 e5 24. Nb5 $16) 22. Qxb8 Rxb8 23. Bxd5 exd5 24. Nxa5 {Captures
the more important pawn.} (24. Rxd5 Be6 25. Rd2 Rfc8 26. Rc1 b5 27. Nxa5 b4 28.
c4 Ra8 29. Nb3 Rxc4 30. Rxc4 Bxc4 {gives excellent drawing chances to Black.})
24... Bf5 $1 {Initially missed by White when he played Ra1-b1.} 25. Nc6 Bxb1
26. Nxb8 Bxa2 27. Nd7 Re8 28. Nxb6 Rxe2 {[%csl Ga2,Ge2] Diagram [#] Mickey can
be happy with his defense so far. He managed to trade a lot of pawns and
activate his pieces. Anish tries his best chance} 29. c4 $1 ({The rook endgame
after} 29. Nxd5 Bxd5 30. Rxd5 g6 {should be a draw with precise defense. The
most dangerous passer on the queenside in these situations is the b one.})
29... Kf8 30. Rxd5 $1 {Giri admitted at the press conference that the position
should be objectively a draw "Of course" and started producing devilish tricks.
} ({Black holds after} 30. cxd5 Ke7 (30... Rb2 31. d6 Ke8 32. d7+ Kd8 33. Rd6
Rc2 {followed by Ba2-e6 and Rc2-c7 is equal as well.}) 31. d6+ Kd8 32. Rc1 Be6
33. d7 (33. Ra1 Ba2 $1) 33... Bxd7 34. Rd1 Re7 $11) 30... Bb1 {The move in the
game intended to meet the natural} (30... Re6 {with the nice regrouping} 31.
Rb5 $1 Rc6 32. Nd5 {threatens back-rank mate.} Rc8 33. Rb4 g6 ({One more trcik
is seen after} 33... Bxc4 $2 34. Nb6) (33... Rxc4 34. Rb8+ Rc8 35. Rxc8#) 34.
Ne3 {the pawn is well defended and more importantly- the black bishop is out
of the game for very long time, if not for ever.}) 31. Rd8+ $1 {An important
in-between check. Anish did not want to allow the bishop a chance to seize the
long diagonal} (31. Kf1 Rb2 32. c5 Be4 {when Black will have plenty of
counterplay.}) 31... Ke7 32. Rd1 Bc2 $6 ({Now} 32... Be4 33. Kf1 Rb2 34. Nc8+ {
looks awkward for Black. In the arising time trouble Adams did not dare to go
for this line and this was probably a mistake. After} (34. Re1 Rxb6 35. Rxe4+
Kd6 {is very close to a draw}) 34... Kf6 35. Rc1 Ra2 36. c5 Bc6 {[%cal Gf6e6,
Ge6d5] Black should be able to hold.}) 33. Nc8+ {One more nasty in-between
check.} Kf6 ({White's idea is revealed in the line} 33... Ke8 34. Rd4 Re1+ 35.
Kg2 Be4+ $2 36. Rxe4+ Rxe4 37. Nd6+ $18) 34. Rd6+ Kg5 ({The central sqaure is
not advisible due to the tricky knight again} 34... Ke5 $2 35. Kf1 Re4 36. f4+
Kf5 37. Rd2 {with the dual threat of a knight fork and the bishop.}) 35. Kf1
Re8 36. Rd5+ (36. Nb6 $5) 36... Kf6 37. Nd6 Ra8 38. Ke2 {Giri made a lot of
progress. He centralized his pieces and the king and deprived the black pieces
from their best squares. It is somewhat unusual to see the bishop dominated by
the knight in such an empty board.} Ra1 {Diagram [#] A blunder in the time
trouble.} ({Both the king moves were preferable} 38... Ke6 39. Nb5 Ke7) ({Or}
38... Ke7 39. Ke3 {In either case though it is not certain if Black could
survive.}) 39. Ne8+ $1 {White wins a second pawn and the game.} Kg6 (39... Ke7
40. Nxg7) 40. Rd6+ f6 41. Rd7 Kh6 42. Nxg7 Ra2 43. Ke3 Ra5 ({Anish also
mentioned the last chance for Black} 43... Ra3+ 44. Kf4 Rc3 {but here too
White wins after} 45. Rc7 Bd3 46. Ne6 Rxc4+ (46... Bxc4 47. Nf8) 47. Rxc4 Bxc4
48. Kf5 $18) 44. Re7 Rc5 45. Kd4 Re5 46. Rxe5 fxe5+ 47. Kc3 {A fine win by
Giri who used the little details to turn the small advantage into a win!} 1-0

Kramnik and Giri share the lead after two rounds. Full report.

Adams Starts Strong in London

After days filled with rapid and blitz action the London Classics treats us with the main dish.
I decided to annotate the only decisive game for you.

[Event "6th London Chess Classic"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2014.12.10"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C90"]
[WhiteElo "2745"]
[BlackElo "2829"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "145"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. e4 {Michael Adams is one of the few top players who sticks to this
aggressive move mainly.} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 {Good news. Fabiano Caruana
prefers play with more pieces on the board. This decision might be influenced
by the fact that Adams was revealed as Carlsen's secret weapon in Sochi, where
there were plenty of Berlins. Decisive Berlins actually.} 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7
6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d3 {The Anti Marshall is another good sign for the
viewers. Both the sides keep their options wide open, even though there is no
immediate central clash.} d6 9. c3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. Nbd2 Nc6 12. Nf1 h6 {
[%csl Rd5,Yf6,Rg5,Gh6][%cal Gh7h6,Ge7f8,Gf8e8,Yc1g5] A small subtlety. Fabiano
excludes the option Bc1-g5xf6 after which the white knight from f1 will go to
d5 in great comfort (Nf1-e3-d5). Then White will get a chance to dominate on
the light squares, although I know a lot of people who have no fear of this.}
13. Ne3 ({A more common way is to develop the knight on g3. Here is one recent
example} 13. h3 Re8 14. Ng3 Be6 15. Bb3 Bf8 16. d4 cxd4 17. cxd4 Bxb3 18. axb3
d5 $1 $132 {Vallejo Pons,F (2698)-Zhang,Z (2611) Tromsoe 2014}) 13... Re8 {
Black's plan is to regroup with Be7-f8, and eventually to fianchettoe it later
after g7-g6. The main idea is to carry out the freeing central blow d6-d5.} 14.
a4 Be6 15. h3 Bf8 16. Nh2 {The idea is to once more weaken the control on the
d5 square with Nh2-g4. Mickey can also go for the kingside attack with Qd1-f3
and Ne3-f5.} b4 $146 {[%cal Ga8b8,Gb8b1,Ya1a4] Diagram [#] Fabiano comes out
with a novelty first. I have the feeling though that the principled move
remains d6-d5, for example} (16... d5 17. axb5 (17. exd5 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 Qxd5)
17... axb5 18. Rxa8 Qxa8 19. exd5 Nxd5 20. Neg4 (20. Nxd5 {might be better}
Bxd5 21. Ng4 {and Black cannot easily expand in the center} f5 {because of} 22.
Ne3 Be6 23. d4 $1) 20... Nf4 21. Nf3 Ng6 $11 {Spraggett,K (2568)-Sargissian,G
(2671) Linares 2013}) 17. Bb3 {[%csl Ga2,Gb3,Gc4,Gd5,Ge6,Gf7] Very logical.
Adams takes care of the light squares.} Rb8 18. Bc4 ({Naturally not} 18. Bxe6
fxe6 {which will support the weak d5 and f5 squares and kill all the white
play.}) 18... bxc3 {Fabiano also playes logically and opens the b file for his
rook. Next comes an excellent resource.} 19. bxc3 d5 $1 {[%csl Rc5,Rd5,Re5]
The same old central approach. This time it is tactically supported by the
lose position of the c3 pawn.} ({Weak is} 19... a5 $2 20. Bb5 $16 {when Black
will suffer on the ight squares till teh end of the game.}) 20. Bxa6 ({A
curious line runs after} 20. exd5 Nxd5 21. Nxd5 Bxd5 22. Bxa6 Qa5 23. Bb5 {
best as} (23. Bc4 $6 {leads to clear edge for Black after} Bxc4 24. dxc4 Qxc3
$17) 23... Rxb5 24. c4 Rbb8 25. cxd5 Nb4 $11 {This was White's best choice.})
20... Qa5 21. c4 (21. exd5 Nxd5 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 {will transpose to the line from
above}) ({While the immedaite} 21. Bb5 Rxb5 22. axb5 Qxa1 23. bxc6 Qxc3 {
favors Black who owes the bishop pair and the future.}) 21... Qxa6 {Safe and
strong.} ({Another possibility was} 21... d4 22. Bb5 Rxb5 (22... dxe3 {is good
for White after} 23. Bxc6 exf2+ 24. Kxf2 Red8 25. Bd5) 23. cxb5 dxe3 24. bxc6
exf2+ 25. Kxf2 c4 {with a mess.}) 22. exd5 Bxd5 23. cxd5 Nb4 $15 {[%csl Ya4,
Gb4,Yd3,Yd5] The outcome of the central break is positive for Fabiano. He
shattered Mickey's central control and now enjoys clear play against the white
and d PP.} 24. Ra3 Nfxd5 25. Neg4 f6 26. Nf1 $1 {White reroutes his pieces to
their optimal squares.} Rbd8 {So does Black. The idea is to pile against the d
pawn and capture it at the end.} (26... Red8 {might be more accurate.}) 27. Ng3
c4 {Caruana decided that the time had come to cash in the advantage. However,
from a hinsight this might not be the most optimal thing. He could have been
more cautious with} (27... Kh8 {when the similar attack would not lead to the
same} 28. Nf5 (28. Qf3 $2 Nc2) 28... Ne7 29. Ngxh6 gxh6 30. Nxh6 Bxh6 31. Bxh6
Qe6 {as White lacks the mighty knight.} 32. Qh5 Qf5 33. Qf7 Qg6) 28. Nxh6+ $1 {
[%csl Rg8] Diagram [#] Superb! Adams needs no second invitation! For the
sacrificed piece he will get two pawns and constant threats against the weak
black king.} (28. dxc4 Qxc4 29. Qb3 Qxb3 30. Rxb3 Ra8 $17) 28... gxh6 29. Qg4+
Kh8 ({Worse is} 29... Kf7 30. dxc4 Ne7 31. Qh5+ Ng6 32. Nf5 {with the threat
Ra3-g3} Nd3 33. Rxd3 $1 Rxd3 34. Nh4 f5 35. Qxf5+ Qf6 36. Qxd3 Qxh4 37. Be3 $16
) ({But} 29... Kh7 $1 {was probably better as in the line} 30. dxc4 Ne7 31. Qh5
{the king defends the pawn on h6 and Fabiano will have one tempo to bring the
defenders closer} Qe6 32. Ne4 Ng8 $13) 30. dxc4 Ne7 31. Qh5 Ng8 32. Nf5 ({
Adams also had the nice} 32. Bxh6 $1 {After which White wins third pawn and
continues the attack} Bxh6 33. Nf5 Kh7 $2 ({Best is} 33... Qe6 $1 34. Nxh6 Rd7
35. Nf7+ Kg7 36. Rg3+ Kf8 37. Nh8 $1 $16 {although White is clearly better
here as well.}) 34. Rg3 {with the threats Rg3-g7+ and Nf5xh6 both followed by
Qh5-g6} Qa7 (34... Rd7 35. Nxh6 Nxh6 36. Qg6+ Kh8 37. Qxe8+) 35. Nxh6 Nxh6 36.
Qg6+ Kh8 37. Qxh6+ Qh7 38. Qxf6+ Qg7 39. Qxg7#) 32... Qb7 33. Rg3 (33. Nh4 $5 {
is another way to attack.}) 33... Qh7 34. Nh4 {Ah! This slows down the attack.
Mickey was winning with the beautiful line:} (34. Re4 $1 Nc6 (34... Na2 35.
Reg4 Nxc1 36. Rxg8+ Qxg8 37. Rxg8+ Kxg8 38. Qg6+ Kh8 39. Nxh6 Bxh6 40. Qxh6+
Kg8 41. Qxc1 $18) 35. Reg4 Nce7 {Diagram [#]} 36. Nd6 $3 {[%csl Re8,Rf8,Rg8,
Yh8][%cal Rh5e8,Rg3g8,Re8f8]} Rxd6 37. Qxe8 Rd1+ 38. Kh2 h5 39. Rxg8+ Nxg8 40.
Qxf8 Rxc1 41. Rxg8+ Qxg8 42. Qh6+ $18 {Needless to say, I am using my computer
to find all of these moves.}) 34... Ne7 {Now Fabiano stabilizes the sitution
although it remains very delicate for both sides. Black always risks to
blunder some material or get checkmated, while White needs to skilfully mount
pressure or else he might end up losing slowly.} 35. Ba3 Nbc6 36. Kh2 Bg7 37.
Bxe7 Nxe7 38. Rd1 {Both the players are skilfully maneuvering. Instead of the
last move, White could have traded some pawns with} (38. f4 {this will both
open the black king further and will prepare successful defense in the edngame
in case that something goes wrong.}) 38... Qg8 39. Rb1 Rb8 40. Rd1 Red8 {Black
rejects the repetition of moves.} 41. c5 Rxd1 42. Qxd1 Rb4 $2 {without the
rook pair Black's position becomes more vulnerable. He has too many squares to
defend. The pawns too become stronger.} ({Instead of the move in the game}
42... Qc8 43. a5 f5 {was the better choice.}) 43. Qd7 Rxh4 44. Qxe7 Rd4 (44...
Rc4 45. a5 $16 {is still difficult for Black.}) (44... Rxa4 $2 {would be a
blunder after} 45. Rxg7 Qxg7 46. Qe8+ $18) 45. c6 Qf8 46. Qb7 Rb4 47. Qd7 Rd4
48. Qb7 Rb4 {Diagram [#]} 49. Rc3 $1 {[%cal Gc6c7,Gc7c8] It is Mickey's turn
to turn the repetition offer down! He risks nothing indeed.} f5 ({Bad is} 49...
Rxb7 50. cxb7 Qb4 51. Rc8+ Kh7 52. b8=Q $18) 50. Qd7 Rd4 51. Qe6 Rd6 $1 {
Diagram [#] Fabiano could not find satisfactory defense against the pawn
promoting plan and sacrifice the piece back for the c passer.} ({If} 51... Rd8
52. c7 Rc8 53. a5 {There is seemingly no defense against the march of the a
pawn all the way to a8 which will release the other one.}) 52. Qxd6 $1 Qxd6 53.
c7 e4+ 54. g3 Bxc3 55. c8=Q+ Kh7 56. Qxc3 f4 $1 {The best defense again.
Black's only chance is the perpetual check.} 57. gxf4 Qxf4+ 58. Qg3 Qd2 {[%csl
Ye4,Yh7] Diagram [#]} 59. Qc7+ $1 {Alas, this defense does not work to the
iron grip by Adams. He wins a second pawn by force.} Kg6 60. Qb6+ Kh7 (60...
Kh5 61. Qe3 $1) 61. Qb7+ $1 Kh8 62. Qa8+ $1 Kg7 63. Qxe4 Kf6 (63... Qxf2+ 64.
Qg2+ {was the point of the previous checks. Now White wins.}) 64. Qf3+ Kg6 65.
Kg2 Qa2 66. Qe4+ Kf6 67. Qf4+ Kg6 68. Qd6+ Kg7 69. Qe5+ Kh7 70. a5 Qg8+ 71. Kh2
Qf7 72. Qe4+ Kg7 73. a6 {An excellent start for Adams who proved once again
his perfect understanding of the Ruy Lopez!} 1-0

Complete report by Peter Doggers here.